GOING TO LOSE YOU FOREVER! CHAPTER 4

She could cry all she wanted.

She could kneel and beg, she could throw herself at his mercy.

It would never be enough.

Because Vanessa was still dead.

And so was their child.

And until he made sure Valeria Jayne felt the same pain he felt.

This was far from over.

Not even close.

Valeria wants to genuinely apologize to the mourning parents of Vanessa. Valeria knelt on the cold tile floor, shivering. The sterilized smell of antiseptic mixed with the unbearable scent of death, hugging her in a noose. She could not breathe. Her swollen eyes stared at the lifeless body of Vanessa covered in a white sheet except on her face. A face that would never smile again, never speak, and never wake up.

And next to her. Vanessa's parents. Her mother, her eyes red-rimmed, overflowing with tears, sat without speaking, her fingers curled around the edge of the steel table on which lay Vanessa. Her father slumped into his chair, shoulders collapsing as if the air had been sucked out of him. Their daughter was dead. Their grandchild was gone. Because of her. Valeria's hands burrowed into the freezing floor, every joint rattling as she bent forward, her forehead on the ground.

"I regret," she breathed. It was raw to the ear, her wisdom declaiming, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The words felt meaningless.They weren't enough. Nothing would ever be enough. She sobbed, her fingers gripping the floor as if the weight of her guilt was going to crush her into dust. "Please."she begged. "Please. forgive me." Silence. A silence that cut deeper than any insult, any slap, any punishment.

Her mother opened her mouth on a soft, broken sob; her fingers knotted into a clutch on the sheet covering her daughter. He did not stir. He never stirred. The forgiveness was frigid. Valeria's fingernails bled into the palms of her hands as she raised her head a little. She let a few tears smear her eyes out of focus. "I realize that nothing I say-nothing I do- will ever put her back, but please if I could just trade my life for hers. If I only could-"

"You can't bring her back," he said once again, his hollow tone. "You can't undo what you did." Valeria's lip quivered. "I-"

"I don't care whether or not it was an accident," he cut in low and sharp, through the room like a blade. "I don't care about your regrets. My daughter is dead. My grandchild never had a chance to live. And you think kneeling here, crying, will change that?"

Valeria's breath caught in her throat.

"I-"

"No," he said coldly.

Her heart shattered.

His eyes bored into her, hollow yet full of rage simultaneously.

"I have no forgiveness to give," he whispered.

Valeria fell onto her back; her shoulders jerked violently. Fresh tears started falling down her face. Valeria clutched her chest as if something was breaking her inside. Through her tears, she whispered to herself, "I'm sorry."

Vanessa's father turned away.

And in that moment, Valeria knew.

There would be no forgiveness.

There would be no peace.

There was only this.

This endless nightmare.

This endless punishment.

This guilt that would bury her alive

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Kc stood with the police, his fists clenched so tight, his nails cut into his palms

"Mr. Page, the officer said his voice firm. "You need to understand the gravity of what you did today. Assaulting a patient, regardless of your grief, is still a crime."

Kc heard him barely.

His eyes locked onto Valeria.

Her fragile, weak form trembled as she begged for forgiveness she would not receive.

She had earned it.

She had earned the pain.

But still.

That sight sent something in his chest twisting inside.

He clenched his jaws, shoving off the feeling that had started inside.

"Listen, Mr. Page?" a note of annoyance crept into the officer's voice.

Kc snapped back to him.

"I heard," he grunted, his face a mask.

"Then you realize that if Miss Jayne decides to press charges-"

Kc laughed.

A bitter, humorless laugh.

"Press charges?" he repeated. "Do you think I care?"

The officer's lips pressed into a thin line. "Whether you care or not, the law is the law. And attacking a patient-

"She is not pressing charges."

The officer blinked. "You seem mighty confident of that."

Kc's eyes flickered to Valeria, still kneeling on the floor like a broken doll.

"She won't dare."

The officer paused for a minute, then shrugged. "However that may be, you'd better calm down, Mr. Page. The loss of a daughter does not make you the judge and jury."

Kc didn't respond.

Because he knew.

Justice?

This wasn't about justice.

This was about revenge.

And he hadn't finished yet.

Not even close.

Not until Valeria learned what real suffering was.

The officer gave him a long, hard look before speaking again. "For now, we won't press charges against you, but I suggest you walk away before this escalates further."

Kc exhaled sharply, his hands still shaking.

He wasn't done.

But for now, he would wait.

He turned away from the officers, his gaze falling on Valeria one last time.

Still kneeling.

Still crying.

Still pathetic.

His lips curled in disgust.

"You can cry all you want," he said under his breath, too low for anyone to hear but him.

"It won't bring her back."

Then he turned his heel and left.

Valeria lay there on the floor, numb and empty.

She had begged.

She had cried.

She had given up everything she could in that moment.

It wasn't enough.

Not even a whisper from Vanessa's mother, or a word of rejection from her father.

The merciless hatred in Kc's eyes.

It all crashed down on her, drowning her under a stifling tide of shame and despair.

Manager Kim finally fell beside her, his face pale and drawn.

"Valeria. " he whispered. "Come on. Let's go."

She didn't move.

"Valeria, please," he begged softly, his hand reaching for her shoulder. "You have to get out of here."

Slowly. agonizingly. Valeria pulled herself off the floor.

Her knees collapsed.

Her eyes blurred.

But somehow, she managed to will herself to her feet.

And as she walked out of the morgue-out of the place where she just faced the ultimate weight of her sins-

She realized something.

No matter where she went, no matter how far she ran… 

She would never escape this. This guilt. This pain. This unforgivable crime. And maybe… 

Maybe she didn't deserve to.